Welcome Everyone,
My name is Tidus Coleman and I will be your Zooplankton guy! I've decided to do my research on the Zooplankton inside of the Tide Pool. I must say, finding the correct Zooplankton was quite time consuming. Nonetheless, the Zooplankton that I have selected to research on is Tigriopus californicus. These are commonly known as tiger pods or tide pool copepods. They belong to the Harpacticoida family which is an order of the Copepoda, with about 1700 species known. They are tiny copepods about 1 to 2 mm in length living in splash pools. They tend to be habitat in rock pools in intertidal zone on seashore. Tiger pods are often reddish or red in color and rich in pigments and highly unsaturated fatty acids. Tiger pods are distributed on the west coast of North and South America. They have slender bodies and they are cylindrical. Males have antennules geniculate on both sides, while the female’s antennules are short and nine-segmented. For the most part, these tiny critters are quite interesting and I will spend the semester with this particular Zooplankton.
Source Reference
Tigriopus californicus
I apologize for not updating as regularly as I should. We have been away from our blog for quite some time now. Tigriopus Californicus is the Scientific name for this particular Zooplanton, however other scientist and myself refer to it as a Tiger Pod. Below is a picture of this little creature.
Imagine from: Bei W.S. 2001 (German)
Scientific Name: Tigriopus Californicus
Color: Reddish
Size: 1-2 mm in length (tiny critters)
Classification: Zooplankton - Harpacticoida
Color: Reddish
Size: 1-2 mm in length (tiny critters)
Classification: Zooplankton - Harpacticoida
Enviornment: Shallow tide pools and tidal flats in the upper spray zone.
Below is a link to a video so you can see these guys in action:
Image from: University of California San Diego. Taken by Ron Burton
Geological Aspect:
The sediments are ingested. Ingested minerals undergo chemical and mineralogical transformation. Gypsum formed in some mineral-bearing pellets. Such chemical changes may in part explain alteration of minerals in the marine environment.
Chemical Aspect:
The small copepod Tigriopus lives in pools high in the splash zone along rocky coasts. These pools receive fresh seawater infrequently and, as water evaporates, their salt concentration rises to high levels. Tigriopus solves its water loss problem by increasing osmotic pressure of its body fluids.
Physical Aspect:
Overall, 90.1% of pools containing T. californicus were found between 3.0 and 5.0 m above lowest normal tide, with an average surface area-to-volume ratio of 7.06.
References:
"Tigriopus Californicus." 123HelpMe.com. 07 May 2011
<http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=38444>.
